#jadedfox

And how would he explain to his teammates that Nino had survived while he was nowhere to be found? How would he lie to them to protect his secret identity?

He had finally began struggling as the Akuma had held him on his neck, just the tips of his sneakers still on the metal platform of the tower. Firena had begun screaming but was being held back by Ladybug while Chat heatedly discussed a plan with her. Queen B hadn’t shown up yet, she could’ve saved him in an instant because she was able to fly.

And then suddenly, everything had begun getting out of control. The Akuma had turned to him, had placed his hand on his chest and had grinned. Firena had cried out, Ladybug and Chat had surged forward but before anyone had been able to get to him the world had begun spinning.

As his body was played with by the air he barely realized he had been thrown. He didn’t fall off the Eiffel Tower, no, he flew through the air horizontally. Everything was too fast, his chest hurt and he didn’t know where anything was. A quick glimpse of the Eiffel Tower at some point told him he was far gone already.

The Tower was merely a stick against the blue as far as Nino had seen. His feet felt so heavy as he continued spinning and his head felt as if someone had placed a giant rock on his cheeks. He gulped, unable to breathe in, to scream, to do anything.

Until he felt a sharp pinch on his leg.

Wayzz.

Nino tried to get his thoughts together, tried closing his eyes but that was worse. He opened the widely again, seeing that he now spun slower. He could try to stabilize again and concentrate on talking. Like sky diving. He had never done that but he was a superhero, he should be able to do it.

So he concentrated, tried to find a point where he could find the air slashing against him. The direction in which he flew. Since he still spun around his whole body he needed to tense his muscles accordingly. Wasn’t there something about cats using their tail to turn in midair?

Damn, where was Chat when he needed him…

He found the air stream, finally, and adjusted his body so he could slowly begin to stop the spinning. By tensing and relaxing his muscles he managed to spin slower, use his back as a shield. He now fell backwards, the shadow of wind on his face enabling him to force out the desperate words.

“Wayzz, shields up!”

The wind grabbed his words and blew them away as he felt how gravity took a hold of him again, making the angle to the floor higher. He felt himself falling more towards the ground now than he had flown before and as he turned his head he saw the buildings quickly closing in.

“Wayzz… Wa-… Wayzz-… Shields-…”, he choked, fear blocking his throat. The Kwami couldn’t hear him. The buildings came closer and closer, faster than he had imagined. Now he passed the roofs. Luckily for him he aimed at a street.

The people started looking up but he couldn’t hear their screams over the strong wind in his ear.

In a last desperate attempt not to die he curled himself up, starting to spin again. Then he yelled at his pocket.

“WAYZZ, SHIELDS UP!!”

A flash of green shone behind his eyelids and the familiar feeling of the suit building up around his body washed over him. His hands were coated with gloves, his chest protected with armor, his back covered with plates-

His head snapped back as he hit the ground.

The asphalt partly gave way under his indestructible suit but partly still stayed unmoving. He felt his body slamming down on the concrete, then flipping and sliding further. The angle in which he had hit the ground had been flat enough to not pancake him into the ground but rather let him flip like a rock on a frozen lake. He just didn’t know which he would’ve preferred.

The street ended after some time and he was thrown against a house wall, his body finally coming to a halt.

He fell to the floor with loose limps and slack muscles, his shoulder and hips hitting hard on the sidewalk. His head mostly landed on his arm but he still felt the hard impact.

His mind was dangerously close to shutting down but he willed himself to get up, to get to his knees at least. His body wouldn’t move, wouldn’t even give the slightest attempt as people started gathering around him, rolling him onto his back.

He groaned and whimpered as his bones were moving, as his body was straightened out. People were calling for help, were attempting to call an ambulance but he shook his head, finding back to his conscious. His transformation and Wayzz’ energy helped massively keeping him in the game, but he knew he’d pass out and need medical attention in the second he detransformed.

“Monsieur, Monsieur Carapace! You need an ambulance!”

He sat up with the help of a few people and numbly shook his head, testing his toes and fingers. Then he went up to ankles and wrists, knees and elbows, until he could roll his shoulders with a pained hiss.

He got a few helping hands as he leant forward, getting out of his sitting position to kneel.

“I-… I’m okay… I’m good… N-No ambulance, I’m-… F-Fine…”, he mumbled before getting straightened up by the civilians, thanking them with a slight nod.

As he felt the ground beneath his feet again he sighed in relief, shaking his shoulders out and patting on his chest.

“I just-… Need to-… Breathe… That’s all… No ambulance, please, I’ll-…”

“Carapace, what happened?!”

“Monsieur, Monsieur, don’t stand up!”

“Here, I’ll hold you, I’ll hold you up-”

“Please, you need an-”

“Leave him alone!”

“Don’t you see he’s-”

“But what if-”

“Where-”

He squinted his eyes as the voices now slowly sounded through his numbness and the blood rushing in his ears. At least ten hands on his back, sides and shoulders held him up and he swayed but as soon as his brain had a little more oxygen again he shook his head, getting his concentration back.

“People, please…”, he tried and a man next to him straightened up.

“He wants to say something!”

Everyone listened up and they turned their heads to him as he parted himself from all the supporting hands.

“Don’t-… Don’t worry, I’m okay… I had the suit. No ambulance.”

“But Monsieur, you need to get checked, you’re obviously-”

“I’m fine.”, he smiled at the panicking woman with a phone, “Or wait, no, call an ambulance, please. I’m sure a lot of people here are shocked.”

Her eyes wandered around and she slowly nodded, then turned back to him.

“What about you, Carapace?”

He gave her a strained grin and put a hand on his side, nodding at her.

“Don’t worry, I’ll survive. I’m a hero, that happens daily.”, he lied, relieved as her gaze got softer.

“Alright. But please get yourself checked up as soon as you can. We don’t want to lose you.”

He merely chuckled, nodding as he once again straightened his body, already feeling better as his system got used to being still again. His brain was balanced now that he could breathe again and even though his chest hurt he felt okay enough to join his teammates.

Not necessarily fight but at least tell them Nino would be okay.

He thanked all the people who had cared for him and stayed until the ambulance arrived to be as fit as he could with a few more minutes of a break, then he grabbed his shield and jumped onto the next rooftop, running and jumping and gliding on his shield towards the city center again.

When he arrived the team already was in the middle of fighting the Akuma.

Well… Three out of five. Ladybug, Chat Noir and-… Queen B? Where was Firena?

“Hey, uh-”

“CARAPACE!!”, even though they all looked like they wanted to kill him right now they all looked at least a bit relieved to see him but still concentrated on taking down the Akuma. It pretty much looked like they had everything under control, her gladly noted, so he wouldn’t have to give his all. But before he could even analyze where his place on the battlefield was, Queen B came jumping to him, a concerned expression on her face.

“Listen, Cara, we can take the Akuma, no problem. You might not have heard it yet but a boy died today… Uhm, if you could go see Firena? She’s kinda upset and we’re all caught up in the fight.”

He gave her a puzzled look, then nodded slowly.

“Uhm-… Yes, of course. Where is she?”

“Still on top of the Eiffel Tower. We kinda-… Well… We had to tie her up there. We didn’t want her to see how the boy must-…”, she broke off as Carapace nodded again, quicker this time to interrupt her.

“Yes, clear. I’ll care for her.”

Queen B gave him a brief salute and surged into the fight again while he fought his own by trying to keep his mind together. But he managed to concentrate until he set foot on the metal platform of the Eiffel Tower, where he had been in his civilian form mere minutes ago. The busted off railing gave him a weird feeling in his stomach but his gaze was immediately drawn to the sunken together girl that was tied to one of the poles on the inner construction of the Tower. She sobbed, her ears flatly laying on her head. Carapace gulped.

Yes, they had met a few times in his civilian form. She had visited him twice or so, on a lonely evening. So why was she so upset now?

“Firena?”, he carefully approached her, his steps soft and soothing as he got closer to her, “What-… What’s up?”

She looked up, her nose running and her eyes reddened and swollen from all the crying. Her arm was outstretched because she sat as far from where their teammates had tied her to the building, creating a heartbreaking picture of how desperate she was to get away. With a second gaze he recognized Ladybug’s yoyo. Of course, something had to hold her here that she couldn’t break.

If that meant that Ladybug was giving up her weapon to fight then it must’ve been urgent to keep Firena here.

He knew Ladybug and Firena knew each other’s identities, as the only ones out of their group, but he didn’t know if that had anything to do with keeping her here.

“Rena, hey, what’s-”

“Why are you here?! What’re you doing here now?!”, she immediately snapped, her voice already hoarse and broken from crying. She once again tugged on the yoyo but it wouldn’t come free, “You weren’t here! You could’ve saved him! We-… We could’ve saved him…”

She once again subsided to her sobs, lowering her head. Her body language said more than obviously that he shouldn’t come closer. Her ears were flattened down to her hair and her tail was wrapped around herself but he couldn’t help it. He kneeled down and tightly hugged her.

Out of the first animalistic instinct that all of the heroes had transferred to their behavior to some degrees she bit him. He felt her two sharp fangs sink into his suit on his shoulder, with her and Chat’s claws and fangs the only thing except weapons that could cut through the material. He clenched his teeth as she only tightened her bite but then let go of him to bury her forehead on his shoulder, sobbing heartbreakingly. He held her close and felt her tail lashing to the side only to include him in the hug. He was now officially allowed to touch her so he nuzzled her ear, bringing his face deeper into her fluffy hair. Her ponytail had come loose, probably from fighting (against their teammates?) and thus she wore it open.

“It’s gonna be okay, Firena… It’s gonna be okay…”, with a short glance he assured himself that they were alone. Obviously, the highest platform had been blocked by the police because of the Akuma attack, “It’s gonna be okay, Firena…”

“N-N-Nothing-… Nothing’s gonna-… B-Be okay-…”, she sobbed against his chest plates, her hands weakly pounding on his arms, “… H-He-… H-He’s d-dead n-now and he’s m-m-my b-boyfriend and I j-just w-w-want him b-back and-”

Carapace couldn’t hear the following rambling. His eyes shot widely open and he grabbed her shoulders, staring into her eyes.

“He’s your boyfriend?!”, he asked unbelievingly, the blood uncomfortably rushing in his ears again. Bad reminder.

“Y-Yes-… H-H-He was my b-boyfriend and-… I k-know he w-w-wanted to p-propo-ose to me and I j-just want him b-b-back b-because I c-can’t imagine a life w-without him…”

His eyes went even wider and he gulped, cupping her face. He knew she spoke of Nino Lahiffe, of himself in civilian form. He knew he had a girlfriend. One girlfriend.

One that he wanted to propose to.

Alya Césaire.

And here she kneeled before him.

“How in the hell did you find the ring in my nightstand?!”, he busted out, terrified. He had hidden it so well! Well, that was probably a part of being the partner of a journalist. Slash superhero, he reminded himself.

As she looked up he didn’t even let her have the time to process what he had said. With a green flash he detransformed, his golden eyes clashing with hers before he squinted them, pressing his lips against hers.

He had never been so glad to have her figure out one of his secrets, honestly. Or two, now.

"Alright, new plan. I'm gonna send a decoy out while we hunker down here and you shield us, and then when she's good and distracted, I'll jump out and get her. Then, we just need to trap the akuma until Mari and Adrien get back into town."

"Works for me, just get a move on." Tortue knelt on the ground, hiding her with his shield as she closed her eyes, projecting an image of herself that sauntered out from behind the shield.

"What, running out of steam already?" the double taunted, twirling her baton in one hand. "You're not putting up much of a fight."

"Disc Jockey will not be defeated by the likes of you! You are not who I want. Where are Chat Noir and Ladybug?" The akumatised villain roared, launching another pair of discs at the double, who swung out of the way just in time. La Renarde was surprised at how easy it was to pilot the double, despite having virtually no practice.

"They're not available at the moment, but we seem to be more than enough challenge for you." The double swung her baton showily, smirking at the villain. "Come and get me," she said teasingly. Disc Jockey roared in frustration again, charging after the double, and Tortue gently prodded his partner.

"Now's your chance! Go!"

La Renarde sprung out from behind the shield, jumping off of the hood of the car and leaping at the akuma. She lunged, grabbing away the record on the villain's back and snapping it in half, releasing the akuma. Tortue Jade reached out, capturing it and placing it in a box that Ladybug had given them, keeping it contained until she could return to purify it.

The two heroes helped the previously-akumatised woman up, telling her she would be okay and handing her off to the paramedics on-scene before high-fiving each other and grinning. The two ducked down a back alley as the press began moving in, choosing to skip the press conference for today and transforming back to their civilian selves, emerging on the other side of the alley. "Home?" Alya suggested.

"Definitely, I'm beat. Plus I wanna let Adrien and Mari know about how we beat our first akuma!" Nino grinned, sounding excited, before Alya gently elbowed him in the ribs.

"Ix-nay on the eeroes-hay, you don't want us getting found out, do you? C'mon ya goof, let's go home." She took his hand, twining her fingers between his and pecking him on the cheek as they started walking back to their apartment.

***

"What do you want to do for dinner?" Nino called from the living room as Alya changed into her pajamas in the bedroom, where their kwamis lay resting on their nightstand, each with its own pile of snacks.

"Whatever it is, I'm not leaving and I'm not cooking," she called back, tying her hair up into a ponytail.

"Do you wanna order from that Greek place again? Their falafel was pretty good."

"Sounds good to me." She walked out of the bedroom, collapsing onto the couch next to him. "You wanna call or should I?"

"I'll do it. What do you want?"

"Falafel, a side salad, and a baklava please." She moved closer to him, leaning against his side as she grabbed her laptop from the coffee table, opening it up to the article she was working on before the akuma attack. Nino called in their order, confirming the delivery in about twenty minutes, and looked over Alya's shoulder.

"Whatcha writing?"

"Just an article for work, and then I need to update to Ladyblog. I set up some cameras on a timer to catch pictures of the akuma fight. I figured it'd be kinda weird if Paris' number one superhero blog didn't update on the new heroes, and I want to be sure not to blow our cover."

"You're cute when you get all… scheming." Nino kissed the top of Alya's head, turning on the  TV to news coverage of the attack, and the aftermath that had not been fixed by Ladybug's Lucky Charm. "Do you wanna watch this?"

"Yuck, no thanks. It was bad enough being in the fight, I don't really feel like reliving right now." Alya shook her head, making a noise of distaste. "Wanna watch a movie with dinner? You can pick, just so long as it's not super violent or explosion-y. Not exactly in the mood."

"Sounds good to me." He put on a movie they had both already seen a hundred times, and it was one of their favorites. He wrapped his arm around her carefully, making sure not to get his hand between her face and the screen, or to accidentally hit where she was ticklish. He had made both of those mistakes before, and learned his lesson the hard way on the couch each night. He used his free hand to type out a message to Adrien, letting them know that they defeated the villain and that the akuma seemed to be successfully trapped in the box, before setting his phone down and leaning into Alya. They lay like that for a while, the movie and Alya's typing combining into a calming white noise, a pleasant contrast to the raucous sounds of the city and the fight earlier. When the food arrived, Nino got up to get it, handing the delivery girl some cash and taking the food to the kitchen, where he split it onto two plates and got out a pair of forks. "Dinner time, babe. Take a break." He sat back down next to Alya, holding her plate out to her. She set the laptop on the cushion beside her, taking the plate gratefully.

"Have I mentioned lately that you're the best?" She stretched up to kiss his cheek before taking a bite of the falafel. "Well, second best, after this food. This is insanely good."

"Y'know I'd be more offended if you weren't right, this is delicious." They dug in, watching the movie and cracking jokes with each other as they ate, eventually clearing their plates and setting them on the table. "How's the article coming?"

"Eh, well enough. I think I might take a break for the night, I'm wiped." Alya shrugged, then leaned forward to save her work before putting the laptop back under the table. She slid towards Nino, leaning into his side and pulling down the blanket that hung on the back of the couch, wrapping it around them. "Besides, I have more important things to do."

"Like?"

"Like cuddle with my incredible boyfriend after we saved the whole city. I think we deserve a bit of a break."

"You got me there." Nino smiled, putting his arm around her shoulder and pulling her close. He started to drift off to sleep, but could feel her becoming tense next to him. He shook himself awake, looking worriedly down at her. "Babe? You okay?"

"Yeah, I just… I dunno. Sure, I know a lot about superheroes, and I've always wanted to be one, but… What if I'm not cut out for it? What if I mess it up?"

"Hey, you did great today. We both did." He pulled her into a tight hug. "And even if you do make a mistake, I'll be there every step of the way, always just behind you, and we'll fix it." He rubbed her back comfortingly, holding her close.

"Thanks." She curled up into his hug, resting her head on his chest and smiling slightly, closing her eyes. "You always know just what to say."

"That's why you love me." Nino kept his arms around her, closing his eyes too, drifting off to sleep. They stayed that way until the early morning, when the sounds of another attack outside woke them, their kwamis flying out of the bedroom. They rose quickly, transforming and jumping out the window, clambering up the fire escape.

"Behind you!" La Renarde shouted, hitting a flaming soccer ball away from Tortue Jade and shooting him a concerned look at the smell of burnt hair. "You good?"

“No. It’d be too many people in danger and it’d take too long. We don’t even know if the Bee has a chosen right now and searching for just one Zodiac chosen could take us the time we need to save Chat. We can’t even risk the Bee, really, but I have a feeling that we need the whole group together…”, she sighed, sitting back and slumping, “I mean… I dunno. It just seems like-…”

“That’s a good idea, Marinette. I’m sure, the Bee will be out there.”

The girl nuzzled her Kwami gratefully, then stood up with the box in her hands, facing Nino. He understood and gently parted from Alya, giving her another kiss on her forehead before focusing on Marinette.

She took the box with the Miraculous under one arm and shared a gaze with Wayzz, then she brushed the Turtle bracelet off her wrist. It glowed softly as it left her arm and got closer to its chosen.

“Nino, I’m entrusting you with this Miraculous. You’re the chosen wielder and with the Turtle comes a lot of responsibility. The Turtle is the guardian Miraculous because it represents steadiness. It is constantly activated and thus, you will watch over the Miraculous as well as probably live past us all to pass the Turtle as well as the other Miraculous on to another successor. Do you understand that?”

The boy slowly nodded as Alya pressed her hand to her lips, looking away.

Nino reached forward and touched the Turtle bracelet, the glow getting brighter. He slipped it on his wrist and breathed through as the weight of the responsibility rested on his shoulders.

As soon as he had fastened the bracelet to keep it tight on his arm, his chest began glowing.

Alya and Marinette both took a step back as he yelped, touching his shirt.

“Wh-Wha-”, he exclaimed, terrified at the light emitting from him that only became brighter.

“Your body is accepting the Miraculous.”, Wayzz calming explained, staying on Nino’s arm, “Your lifespan is extending. It’ll only take a second.”

Nino gulped and looked up to meet the gaze of the girls again, nodding as the light dimmed down again.

“Alright…?”, he replied, unsure of what to make of this. Finally, as the light was gone again he swayed but stayed standing.

“Nino?”, Marinette carefully asked, and he nodded, signaling he was fine. Only then she continued, holding the box of the Miraculous up, “Here are the Miraculous that are now under your protection. The two key Miraculous which are given to Chat Noir and me, the five guardian of which the Butterfly and the Peacock are lost to Hawkmoth and the Fox and the Turtle which are given to Alya and you.”

Nino slowly took the box, cradling it close to his chest.

“I took the Bee out since I can easily transform with a lower Miraculous than mine. I plan on getting the last wielder so we can have a chance. Is that okay with you?”

“Uhm… Sure?”

She nodded, placing the hairclip just above her pigtail. It glowed briefly and a tiny Kwami shot out, falling in her shoulder. She carefully took the groggy goddess and lightly brushed over her head, giving her time to wake up.

“Good. The rest are twelve Zodiac Miraculous. They represent the twelve Zodiac animals of the Chinese mythology. You got that?”

He nodded again so she smiled at him, now focusing on the tiny Bee Kwami in her hand.

“Hey, hi. I’m Marinette, chosen of the Ladybug Miraculous.”

The Kwami blinked at her, then smiled and slowly began floating.

“Hi.”, she replied in a high-pitched voice, floating a little higher so that Marinette could talk to her on one level, “I’m Pollen. Nice to meet you!”

While Marinette briefly explained the situation to Pollen, Nino set the box of the Miraculous down on his bed and turned to Alya, breathing through.

“Hey, Alya?”

He caught her gaze by stepping to her and cupping her face, lightly brushing away the tears that were still spilling.

“I-I’m sorry I’m so-”, she began but he shook his head, softly pressing his lips to her forehead and closing his eyes. After a few moments he mumbled against her skin, feeling her arms hesitantly wrapping around his waist.

“Don’t worry about a thing… I know what I’m getting myself into, I kinda just-… Have it in me.”, he slowly wrapped his arms around her neck now, still talking against her forehead. Her breath brushed over his neck as she leant against him, “I’ll keep you safe, promise.”

“I’m not scared about myself.”, she tried retorting but he just chuckled humorlessly.

“You’re scared of losing me. As am I. But Alya, we’ll get through this. We need to save Chat. We’re heroes now.”

She snorted tearfully, tilting her head to the side and away from his lips to rets it in the crook of his neck to be closer. He held her gently, his hand brushing patterns over her back.

“It’s okay, Al. We’ll be okay.”

She still tried getting closer, her hands now meeting behind his back and brushing past the other to rest crossed around him, one of her hands holding onto her other wrist.

His response was to tighten his embrace, watching Marinette talking to Pollen while always sending side glances to the window.

“Ten bucks says Adrien’s gonna be the Bee?”, he asked, half joking. Alya began giggling in his arms before being interrupted by an involuntary sob.

“I dunno… Think it could be Adrien?”

Nino shrugged softly, not wanting to move too much for her.

“Well, blonde hair? Maybe, yeah. And the Squad would be complete then. But I really hope it isn’t him, that boy has a thing for Ladybug and his flirting will not be pretty if he knows Ladybug is Marinette.”

Alya sighed, shaking her head.

“And Marinette would be a mess if she knew Adrien was crushing on Ladybug…”, she added under her breath, causing Nino to tiredly smile.

“Yeah…”

The girl leant back, catching his gaze. He tried widening his smile for her to encourage her but he found himself unable to. The shadow of this night was too dark and heavy to try and lie.

She leant forward, once again pressing her lips against his in a slow, desperate way, trying to forget about everything around them as one of her hands slipped up into his hair, pulling him closer against her.

“… I love you…”, she whispered against his lips, again and again, as if her words could keep the night from happening, “I love you, I love you…”

He felt his fists once again clenching into her shirt, trying to keep them from shaking, trying to keep her from feeling his nervousness. He didn’t reply.

Only after a few moments Marinette broke them apart again. Her eyes were clouded and heavy as she shrugged humorlessly, burying her hands in her pockets as Trixx joined Wayzz on the desk to pull him up.

“Guys, we gotta find out if there’s a Bee… I’m sorry to interrupt you like that but, well, we got a friend to save.”

They both nodded, blushing at the embarrassment of having lost themselves again, then they both straightened up. Alya made the first move by transforming again, momentarily lighting up the room in an orange light, then she nodded at Nino. He spoke the words he got from Wayzz and followed her with a bright green flash, the suit and armor complete with shield appearing on him.

Marinette saw Alya biting her lip and turning away as she saw her boyfriend like this, suppressing a slight smile.

Finally, she sighed and nodded at Pollen, closing her eyes after the second transformation in this room.

“Pollen, stripes on!”, she whispered, feeling the unfamiliar yellow flash travelling up her body until the magic faded, only leaving her, Firena, her Kwami and the addition to their team in the room. She opened her eyes again, not even bothering to send more than a short gaze down her body.

She apparently wore the same suit that she had as Ladybug, skin tight and without alterations. It was yellow and had black boot and gloves as well as stripe patterns. To her hip she had strapped a spinning top, otherwise there was nothing else.

As she looked up, she caught the gaze of the new guardian.

“So, already got a name?”, she asked, smiling.

He didn’t give it much thought. Apparently, it was as easy as Chat had had it all those years ago to him.

“Carapace, I think. I like that name.”

Firena grinned and stood on her tiptoes to place a peck on his lips.

“I like it, too.”, she murmured, already tempted to lose herself in the kiss but Marinette cleared her throat.

“Well then, we gotta get going. Tikki, does this work the same as the Turtle?”

Her Kwami nodded but then shrugged, looking uncertain.

“Well, it should. But, you know, there’s the possibility that we won’t find a Bee wielder. After all they could either be five and thus too young or they could be over in Scandinavia or America orr… Well, there’s many possibilities. So, if you don’t feel anything we should move on without the Bee.”

Marinette nodded, already closing her eyes.

“Alright, let’s see…”, she let go of all thoughts, all concentration and just focused on the Bee Miraculous, on the magic surging through her and-… There!

She gasped as she felt a tug, pulling her to the window.

“I think I got a feeling that they’re here in Paris. It could be that we can build up the team on four! Let’s go!”

Carapace hurriedly hid the box beneath his bed, then he followed the two girls outside, Marinette with the Bee already on the next rooftop while Firena waited for him, crouching on the windowsill outside.

“You good?”, she asked, pulling up her eyebrows beneath her mask.

“Yeah.”, he replied, doing his best to let his voice sound firm and steady, “And I just, uh-… Jump?”

She nodded, taking his hand.

“We’ll do the first one together. Then it should be instinctual for you. Ready?”

He clumsily climbed up to her, closing his window behind them.

“Alright, I’ll try…”, he murmured, his grip on her hand tightening. She lightly yelped and he loosened his grip, not used to the new strength the suit provided for him, “Sorry, sorry…”

She waved it off, then concentrated on Marinette on the roof across from them.

“See Mari there? We’ll jump on the count of three.”

He gulped and straightened up with her, his fingers interlacing with hers.

“A-Alright, we can do that.”

“One… Three!”, she suddenly exclaimed, jumping and pulling him with her. Out of reflex he immediately jumped with her, startled by how high he suddenly was. The ground left his feet and he flew, the roof from across coming towards him.

Within a second, it was over and he securely landed on his feet, running a few steps to get the speed from the jump off.

“Wh-… What the hell, woman! Can you even count?!”, he stuttered, bewildered at her mischievous grin.

“I know you. You would’ve chickened out. And now you stand here.”

He grumbled as she crossed her arms, suddenly looking overly smug. But just as a smile snuck on his lips, Marinette once again interrupted them, this time sounding urgently.

“I just spotted Chat Noir heading this way, I don’t think he spotted us yet. Run!”

Immediately, all three of them dashed past windows and chimneys, over the roofs, until they could hide behind a wall to see where the black figure against the dark sky was heading.

The chesire hero landed on the same windowsill but since Nino’s room was dark he growled and jumped off, running back the same way he had come here. And for a split second, Marinette could see that his hand was clenched.

She gasped as he was out of sight, turning away from the edge of the wall to start pacing over the roof, squinting her eyes. Only after a few moments Carapace’s voice sounded through to her.

“… -t’s wrong?”, he asked.

Marinette breathed through, trying to control her panic.

“I think Hawkmoth sent Chat Noir to choose a Peacock. It’s just an assumption since the Peacock can also be lost somewhere but it could be that Hawkmoth has it.”

“Which means we’re not the only ones trying to build up a team.”

“But why did he come to my room?”, Nino interjected, “I mean, I’m not a Peacock chosen and Alya told me you found me through tracking.”

“Plagg is trapped inside the ring.”, Tikki explained, tightly holding onto Marinette’s shoulder, “So he can’t transform with the Peacock. I assume he’s just following it this way, meaning he can track magical hints but not use the much more effective track Marinette is using.”

They all remained silent for a moment before Marinette spoke up with a shaking voice.

“That means he can feel the magical hint to the chosen Bee, too, if he already searched for Nino.”

They all shared a gaze before breaking into a sprint after Marinette’s tugging feeling.